Strawberry Margarita

I love a good cocktail. We stock a pretty limited basic bar but the one thing I’ve discovered I cannot live without is tequila.

Tequila cocktails are my ultimate because if I decide to have a drink I want to taste the alcohol and there ain’t no masking the distinctive flavour of tequila. No siree!

I cannot abide those cocktails that are sickly sweet and almost akin to an alcopop – yuk! I like proper grown up drinks with bite and tang and no spirit does that better than tequila.

When I worked at the Roundhouse in Camden, my drink of choice was a tequila and lemonade and even now when I go out I order what I call ‘a poor man’s margarita’, which consists of a shot of tequila, a splash of lime cordial, a good spritz of soda water and a squeeze of fresh lime. Do I get strange looks when I order this in a pub frequented by seafaring folks? Hell yes. Do I care? Hell no.

The great thing about being older is that one cocktail will suffice. No longer only drinking for the effect, I savour every glorious mouthful. I rarely feel the need to make another, which means no hangover for me. Smug mode:)

Margaritas are definitely in my top five favourite cocktails but boy are they calorific. This offering is my attempt at a healthier version (can anything containing alcohol be deemed healthy? I doubt it) and I was seriously ecstatic with the results. Like jump up and down clean mad about it. The only thing I failed to do (doh!) was to salt the rim – grrrr. Nevermind, it was gorgeous none the less and such a pretty colour.

To accompany the cocktails I made some spiced tofu quesadillas – yeah baby! All in all I was very happy girl and Hubbie was pretty darn content too.

I know that some of you may be scarred by your teenage encounters with tequila (shot anyone?) but may I be so bold as to order you to put those experiences in the past where they belong and encourage you to forge forward into your adult tequila drinking (dare I say savouring) years with this little strawberry margarita. Aw go on! Go on go on go on go on………(any Father Ted fans out there?).

Put the strawberries, lime juice, water, sweetener and grenadine into a hand blender and blitz until completely liquefied. You could also pass it through a strainer to collect the strawberry seeds – I didn’t bother. Place in fridge to chill for several hours (recommended but not essential).

Put several ice cubes into a cocktail shaker along with the tequila, cointreau and strawberry mixer. Give it a good shake until the outside of the shaker frosts up.

Rub the rim of the cocktail glass with a lime. Place decent quality salt (pink Himalayan would be awesome!)into a plate and twist the rim of the glass in the salt to coat.

Divide the margarita between two cocktail glasses and spritz in a little more lime.